Monday, December 14, 2009

Starfleet Gear...

Over the years Star Trek licensees have put out multiple collectibles based on items used by Starfleet officers or students at the Academy. Many of these have been exclusives to the Official Fan Club or Star Trek venues such as Las Vegas' Star Trek The Experience. Let's take a look at some of my favorite Starfleet-themed collectibles, gear, and supplies.

The Starfleet Away Team Kit -- Originally offered by the Official Fan Club for a brief period of time near the end of the club's existence this kit came in an awesome looking field backpack with a Starfleet survival team logo o its shiny metallic grey surface. Inside the pack you'd find a glow in the dark flashlight, water bottle, and a blanket made out of space age materials. This to me seemed like one of the coolest collectible ever, the backpack alone is one of the coolest looking trek items I have ever seen, but the fan club discontinued it rather quickly and then they closed their doors for good so I was never able to get it. I still check for it on Ebay from time to time but unfortunately I have never found a complete one for sale.

DS9ers baseball hat -- This is one of my favorite pieces of Trek wear. From one of the most fun Trek episodes ever, DS9's Take me out to the holosuites, this cap is an exact replica of the one used on the show by cast members in Captain Sisko's baseball team. I used to wear this cap a lot during my early college years and it brings back fond memories of my favorite Trek T.V. series and a very special period of my life every time I see it.

Starfleet Academy Diploma -- For those us us who've always dreamed of attending Starfleet Academy this diploma was an awesome thing to have. You could order it from the Official Fan Club and it would come in personalized with your name on it as well as George Takei's signature.The diploma was printed on beautiful parchment paper just like the real deal. It would come encased in a blue vinyl holder with the Starfleet Academy logo embossed on the front. A beautiful collectible and a great conversation piece for your wall.

Enterprise crew shirts and hats -- Some of the coolest gear from Enterprise was the hats worn by the crew on away team missions, as well as the black undershirts. The fan club made these two pieces of apparel available pretty early on during the show's first season. I still wear these from time to time. They are perfect to wear anywhere and if someone recognizes them as Star Trek gear they are also hardcore fans since the only visible branding is the small NX-01 text. The only complaint I have about these is that the cap does have the Enterprise logo on the back, even though the ones on the show didn't.

The Starfleet Survival Guide -- Published by Pocket Books this book is written for Starfleet officers as a field guide to brief them on multiple subjects such as nonstandard uses for standard equipment, unconventional medicine, dangerous life forms, and extreme scenarios. Very creatively put together by David Mack, author of multiple Star Trek novels, and full of great illustrations by Timothy Earls. A perfect piece to go along with the Away Team Kit.

About Me

I started watching TNG and DS9 during my childhood and soon became obsessed with Star Trek in general. Although my introduction to Trek was the modern shows I also love the original series and even Enterprise. I can't hate or dislike any version of Trek. This new blog is completely devoted to looking back at my favorite memories and collectibles from the Star Trek Universe.